Fiji and West Virginia’s forests are two of the”off-campus classrooms”featured in the off-campus summer course listings offered by the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.

“Summer sessions are great opportunities to earn academic credit, gain valuable experience and also offer gateways to adventure,”said Beverly Hassler, coordinator of summer programs for the DavisColleges Division of Forestry.”We have some very exciting programs in ecology and field study, study abroad and outdoor skills that provide both intensive learning experiences and valuable life experiences.”

Kelly Bricker, an assistant professor of recreation, parks and tourism resources in the DavisCollege, will lead students on an expedition to the Republic of Fiji. Participants will explore marine environments, raft uncharted rivers in the highlands, kayak the Pacific Ocean and visit with residents and tourism professionals to learn firsthand the various impacts of tourism.

Closer to home, summer students will use West Virginias forests as learning laboratories. DavisCollege faculty will offer courses examining and assessing West Virginias game animals, amphibians and reptiles, birds, vegetation and stream ecosystems. The”Wilderness First Responders”course will provide participants with the training necessary to become certified to handle wilderness crises, and the”Timber Felling and Logging Safety”course will focus on the same safety techniques used to train professional timber cutters for on-the-job logging safety.